NHTSA Complaint #11429109 — 2022 SUBARU OUTBACK

The initial incident occurred on July 31, 2021. I used the push button start to start the car, put the vehicle in reverse, and the vehicle proceeded to roll uncontrolled down my driveway, which is on a slope. I had no power steering or power brakes. I was able to safely stop the vehicle with no incident other than damage to the plastic over the right rear taillight. I turned the vehicle off and restarted it, and everything seemed operational. It seemed that the car's engine had not turned on, only the electrical system. The same issue happened repeatedly over the next few days. In observing what was happening, I have noticed that the push button ignition requires a significant press in order for the vehicle to start correctly - quite different from my experience with our previous two push-button start vehicles. In the "Getting Started Guide, Outback 2022", p. 41, instructions clearly state "briefly press and release the Engine START/STOP button." I submit that this is inaccurate, and that new vehicle owners should be advised as to what to do, and what to look for in the dashboard to understand that the vehicle engine has, in fact, started properly. I am a user experience researcher, including in automotive research, and we have an expression that there's no such thing as user error, just poor design. This is a clear example of poor design.